Calling for the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its support of
Iran, Hezbollah, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC).

Whereas state sponsors of terrorism provide critical
support to non-state terrorist groups;

Whereas section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of
1979, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and section 640A of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 stipulate that a designated state sponsor of
terrorism is one “that repeatedly provides support to acts of international
terrorism”;

Whereas the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has
repeatedly provided support and refuge for acts of international terrorism,
including support for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the
National Liberation Army (ELN), Hamas, and Hezbollah as well as closely
aligning itself with Iran, a designated state sponsor of terrorism, and the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force;

Whereas Venezuela has become Iran’s closest ally in the
Western Hemisphere;

Whereas Iran has been designated by the United States
Government as a state sponsor of terrorism and according to the 2009 Department
of State Country Report on Terrorism “has remained the most active state
sponsor of terrorism”;

Whereas the 2008 Report states that the Government of Iran
continues to pursue an expansion of its military ties into the Western
Hemisphere and parts of Africa, including through its IRGC–Qods Force;

Whereas Venezuela has concluded more than 200 bilateral
agreements with Iran on military cooperation, the sharing of intelligence,
establishing direct civilian airline flights between Caracas and Tehran,
expanding financial cooperation, and initiating cultural exchanges, among
others;

Whereas reports that identify Venezuelan shipments of
gasoline to Iran make government-owned entities in Venezuela demonstrably
sanctionable under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and
Disinvestment Act of 2010 (CISADA);

Whereas in a March 2009 congressional testimony, Admiral
James G. Stavridis, then commander of the United States Southern Command,
asserted that the main concern about Iran's increased activity in Latin America
is its links to Hezbollah;

Whereas in a January 2009 congressional testimony,
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates maintained that he was concerned about the
level of “subversive activity that the Iranians are carrying on in a number of
places in Latin America, particularly South America and Central
America”;

Whereas the State Department’s 2008 Country Report on
Terrorism has stated that Hezbollah closely follows the religious guidance of
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei;

Whereas Hezbollah was designated as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization on October 8, 1997, and is closely allied with Iran and often acts
at its behest;

Whereas prior to September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was
responsible for more deaths of United States citizens than any other terrorist
group;

Whereas Hezbollah has already attacked Western Hemisphere
targets, exemplified by the attacks on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina in 1992
and the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires in 1994;

Whereas the 2008 State Department’s Country Report on
Terrorism states that the FARC was designated as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization on October 8, 1997;

Whereas the Report states that the U.S. Department of the
Treasury has designated a Venezuelan diplomat as a Hezbollah supporter and two
senior Venezuelan Government officials and the former Justice and Interior
Minister for materially assisting the narcotics trafficking activities of the
FARC;

Whereas, for more than 40 years, the FARC has carried out
bombings, mortar attacks, kidnappings, extortion, guerrilla warfare, and drug
trafficking targeting Colombian and United States political, military, and
economic interests as well as foreign citizens;

Whereas in July 2009, the Colombian military conducted a
raid on a FARC training camp and recovered Swedish-made anti-tank rocket
launchers sold to Venezuela in the 1980s;

Whereas seized documents from a Colombia-led raid against
the FARC on March 1, 2008, suggest evidence of $300,000,000 in payments to the
FARC from the Venezuelan Government, and efforts by the FARC to obtain 50
kilograms of uranium;

Whereas in January 2008, Chavez praised the FARC as “a
real army” and “an insurgent force with a political project”, and called upon
foreign governments to cease referring to the FARC as a terrorist
organization;

Whereas in May 2009, the Secretary of State renewed an
arms embargo against Venezuela for all United States commercial arms sales and
re-transfers to Venezuela;

Whereas the 2008 Country Report noted that Venezuelan
citizenship, identity, and travel documents remained easy to obtain, making the
country a potentially attractive way-station for terrorists;

Whereas the Department of Homeland Security is required to
assess security at foreign airports with direct service to the United States to
determine compliance with standards established by the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO);

Whereas the United States Transportation Security
Administration says it “has been unable to assess security measures at
international airports in Venezuela that serve as the last point of departure
for nonstop flights to the United States”;

Whereas the activities of supporters and financiers of
terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere constitute a severe threat to
the United States and its allies and interests; and

Whereas many countries in the Western Hemisphere make
serious prevention and preparedness efforts, including cooperation with the
United States, to address the mutual threat that terrorism poses to the region:
Now, therefore, be it

That the House of
Representatives—

(1)

condemns the Government of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela for its state-sponsored support of international
terrorist groups;

(2)

calls on the
Secretary of State to designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism; and

(3)

urges increased
and sustained cooperation on counter-terrorism initiatives between the
Government of the United States and allies in the region.